Joyce White Joyce White Caring Bridge

First post: Jul 17, 2016 Latest post: Oct 27, 2016
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My mom was diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) in 2012.   After a many tests and medical treatments at Brigham and Women's hospital, she was turned down for transplant because of her age and has been dealing with the condition as it has gradually progressed.  To learn more about pulmonary fibrosis, go to the web site of the pulmonary fibrosis foundation at: http://pulmonaryfibrosis.org/

Bad news came in March 2016 when her doctor at the Lahey Clinic told her that she had developed lung cancer alongside the IPF.   In July we learned that it is small cell lung cancer, which sometimes develops in IPF patients.  To learn more about small cell lung cancer, here is a page from the American Cancer Society:  http://www.cancer.org/cancer/lungcancer-smallcell/  This is an aggressive form of cancer that the doctor told us can sometimes double in size in a two week period.  It can metastasize quickly.

Treatment is not possible because it would worsen the IPF. The doctor at Dana Farber advised my mom to enjoy the months of July and August.  She is in a wheelchair and struggles to breathe in the heat and humidity, so she has not been able to go out very much this summer.  This is why visitors and phone calls can mean so much to her.  They can really brighten her day and help her to forget that her independence has been limited by the illness.

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